`Dear Juno and anyone who finds themselves in this situtation,
My name is Andrew and I am a senior at Foothill Tech High School. I have the utmost respect for your decision whatever it may be. In Juno’s case I completely agree with what you did, it seemed to be the best option for you and your family and you touched the lives of others with your decision. Your first instinct to go get an abortion is very understandable since you are still a teenager, and would not be able to support a child very well. However I also understand your reasoning for keeping the child because abortion can be a very emotional experience. To me the three options for you in the position you were in was abortion, having and keeping the child, and having the child and giving it up for adoption.
I stand by the 14th amendment giving women the right to choose, not because I want to kill unborn babies, but because I believe women should have every options available to them. Even though you did not get an abortion, you still thought about it and went to the clinic having the option to control your body. Without the case of Roe v. Wade you wouldn't have even been able to consider getting a safe abortion. For some to say abortion should be illegal even in the case of rape or incest baffle me with their ignorance. In the case of incest the baby, if born could have disabilities and deformations, which would be unfair to the child and the family if she were denied an abortion. In the case of rape you now have a child that is literally forced upon you most likely reminding you of the tragedy, and if you decided to keep the baby the dad being the rapist would now have legal ties to the child, which might mean he will never be out of your life. Making abortion illegal would deny women the right to remove something forced upon them that they might not be ready for. Also making abortions illegal would mean that a women who's babies died inside of them would not be able to have an abortion to remove the baby if needed. This is outrageous, is she to be called a murderer for removing her already dead baby? Ultimately I do not want to see a high abortion rate like others that are also pro-choice, but the way to stop abortions is not by outlawing them, its about promoting safe sex, and sex education. And in your case Juno I believe that if you had been properly educated about safe sex you would not have been in this situation.
However you cannot change the past and you did get pregnant. One option even though you did not choose it was keeping the child. Keeping the child as a teenager would probably be one of the hardest things to do. Raising a child while also trying to stay in school would be a intense workload. I personally believe that this is the worst option of the three, even with parents willing to help you raise the child. Children can bring financial and social hardship making life difficult for everyone, especially when unprepared. I feel like there would be lots of fighting on how to raise the baby and it could end with a broken household. This would not be good for the baby and the rest of the family, and growing up in an environment like that could have implications on the child’s mental and physical well being. Also as said before children bring financial burdens and with a broken economy poverty is not as far away as people seem to think. However none of this is for certain and everything could go completely well if you decided to keep the baby, however from my perspective I plan for the worst in most situations.
Finally the third option, which is what you chose and that would be to have the baby and then put it up for adoption. Personally I think this is the best option because it’s the best of both worlds in a sense. On one side you are not getting an abortion and bringing a new life into the world and on the other side you can give the baby to a stable home giving the child a good life and bring joy to the new parent(s), while also being able to still continue on with your own life and personal goals. In your case Juno you did just that, you gave a child to a prepared mother and you are still young and have your life ahead of you to pursue your goals. Now I'm aware that not everyone will have a fairy tale ending like you, but they have gone through an experience that will change their life.
Having a child is scary for both a man and women and I believe the best route to take is to discuss and plan what you think would be the best decision for you, the baby, and the people around you. https://soundcloud.com/andrewperez1997/record_0009-wav
My name is Andrew and I am a senior at Foothill Tech High School. I have the utmost respect for your decision whatever it may be. In Juno’s case I completely agree with what you did, it seemed to be the best option for you and your family and you touched the lives of others with your decision. Your first instinct to go get an abortion is very understandable since you are still a teenager, and would not be able to support a child very well. However I also understand your reasoning for keeping the child because abortion can be a very emotional experience. To me the three options for you in the position you were in was abortion, having and keeping the child, and having the child and giving it up for adoption.
I stand by the 14th amendment giving women the right to choose, not because I want to kill unborn babies, but because I believe women should have every options available to them. Even though you did not get an abortion, you still thought about it and went to the clinic having the option to control your body. Without the case of Roe v. Wade you wouldn't have even been able to consider getting a safe abortion. For some to say abortion should be illegal even in the case of rape or incest baffle me with their ignorance. In the case of incest the baby, if born could have disabilities and deformations, which would be unfair to the child and the family if she were denied an abortion. In the case of rape you now have a child that is literally forced upon you most likely reminding you of the tragedy, and if you decided to keep the baby the dad being the rapist would now have legal ties to the child, which might mean he will never be out of your life. Making abortion illegal would deny women the right to remove something forced upon them that they might not be ready for. Also making abortions illegal would mean that a women who's babies died inside of them would not be able to have an abortion to remove the baby if needed. This is outrageous, is she to be called a murderer for removing her already dead baby? Ultimately I do not want to see a high abortion rate like others that are also pro-choice, but the way to stop abortions is not by outlawing them, its about promoting safe sex, and sex education. And in your case Juno I believe that if you had been properly educated about safe sex you would not have been in this situation.
However you cannot change the past and you did get pregnant. One option even though you did not choose it was keeping the child. Keeping the child as a teenager would probably be one of the hardest things to do. Raising a child while also trying to stay in school would be a intense workload. I personally believe that this is the worst option of the three, even with parents willing to help you raise the child. Children can bring financial and social hardship making life difficult for everyone, especially when unprepared. I feel like there would be lots of fighting on how to raise the baby and it could end with a broken household. This would not be good for the baby and the rest of the family, and growing up in an environment like that could have implications on the child’s mental and physical well being. Also as said before children bring financial burdens and with a broken economy poverty is not as far away as people seem to think. However none of this is for certain and everything could go completely well if you decided to keep the baby, however from my perspective I plan for the worst in most situations.
Finally the third option, which is what you chose and that would be to have the baby and then put it up for adoption. Personally I think this is the best option because it’s the best of both worlds in a sense. On one side you are not getting an abortion and bringing a new life into the world and on the other side you can give the baby to a stable home giving the child a good life and bring joy to the new parent(s), while also being able to still continue on with your own life and personal goals. In your case Juno you did just that, you gave a child to a prepared mother and you are still young and have your life ahead of you to pursue your goals. Now I'm aware that not everyone will have a fairy tale ending like you, but they have gone through an experience that will change their life.
Having a child is scary for both a man and women and I believe the best route to take is to discuss and plan what you think would be the best decision for you, the baby, and the people around you.https://soundcloud.com/andrewperez1997/record_0009-wav